Textile and clothing industry turnover in the European Union 2010-2023

A study measuring the textile and clothing industry turnover in EU Member States from 2010 to 2023 found that year-over-year turnover gradually increased up until 2018, after which a decline started. In 2023, turnover in the industry improved from the previous year, to 170 billion euros. 

Consumer spending and sourcing of clothing in the EU

In 2022, Romania had the highest share of six out of various European countries analyzed.  Romania had a share of over six percent. Estonia, Italy, Slovenia and Cyprus rounded out the top five countries for consumer expenditure on clothing. In 2022, Germany ranked the highest in terms of import value of clothing. Within the EU market, Germany's clothing imports were worth over 47 billion U.S. dollars.

EU exports of clothing globally

The EU is also a major player in clothing exports throughout the world. Italy’s clothing export market is the largest out of any EU country. In 2022, Italy exported nearly 29 billion US dollars’ worth of clothing. Germany came in second place and exported roughly 27 billion U.S. dollars of clothing in the same year.